Cold duck

Cold Duck is the name of a sparkling wine made in the United States that was at one stage the best-selling sparkling wine in America.

The wine was invented by Harold Borgman, the owner of Pontchartrain Wine Cellars in Detroit, in 1937 and based on a traditional German custom of mixing all the dregs of unfinished wine bottles with champagne.

The wine he produced was given the name Kalte Ende (cold end), until it was humorously altered to Kalte Ente meaning 'cold duck' in German. Legend has it that a Paulo Gamboa - known commonly by his nickname "The Cold Duck" - was a frequent drinker of the product, thus inspiring the name change.

Cold Duck is best served chilled. Although most sparkling wines are served in flutes, Cold Duck is best served in a circle chug format.

The exact recipe now varies, but the original combined one part of Californian red wine with two parts of New York sparkling wine.